Displaying Families

This article argues that the sociology of contemporary family relationships should be developed to recognize the importance of ‘displaying’ as well as ‘doing’ family. The addition of the concept of ‘display’ to the sociological tool kit is not only a necessary complement to the important conceptual developments which have taken place in recent years, but is also rich in its potential for further empirical and theoretical work. In developing this theme, the article examines empirical evidence from recent UK studies of family relationships, exploring why ‘display’ is important in contemporary family relationships as well as the process through which it occurs. The article represents an initial exploration of…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy